3rd Conference on Future Challenges in Sustainable Urban Planning & Territorial Management

Prof. Dr. Shenjing He

University of Hong Kong;
Prof. Shenjing is currently Lady Edith Kotewall Professor in Built Environment and Department Head at the Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong. She established the Social Infrastructure for Equity and Wellbeing (SIEW) Lab in 2021 and co-developed the HKU-Urban Systems Institute in 2022, bringing together multi-disciplinary researchers around the world. Her lab has trained 30 PhD students and 20 Postdocs. Employing novel conceptual tools, sophisticated methods, and multi-sourced datasets to unpack complex urban issues, Prof He’s distinct contributions to urban studies and urban planning include 1) theorizing Chinese urbanism through a series of innovative and robust research on topics of gentrification, entrepreneurial governance, and creative cities; 2) unpacking the intersectionality between housing, education, and healthcare and developing a novel understanding of the dynamic relationship between urban (re)development and housing price mechanism; 3) examining multidimensional socio-spatial inequalities in accessing such critical social infrastructure and their implications on equity and wellbeing. Prof He’s has published over 200 papers and book chapters and five refereed scholarly books. Prof. He has been listed as Scholar in the Top 1% Worldwide by Clarivate Analytics (2016-2025), Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists (2020-2025). In recognition of her academic achievements, Prof. He has been awarded the prestigious National Distinguished Young Scientists Fund by National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship by RGC in 2025. She was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK) in 2021 and awarded Lady Edith Kotewall Professorship in the Built Environment at HKU in 2024. Besides, she has been awarded numerous national and international prizes and awards, such as the Ashby prizes awarded by Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space (2023),